The New York Attorney General has released disturbing footage of correction officers brutally assaulting prisoner Robert Brooks, who died following the attack.
Brooks, 43, died on Dec. 10 after the ruthless group-beating at Marcy Correctional Facility in Oneida County, New York, which was captured in body camera footage released Friday. The videos, which lack audio due to the officers' failure to activate their cameras, depict Brooks, who was handcuffed, being repeatedly punched in the face and groin while sitting on a medical table.
At one point, an officer struck Brooks in the chest with a shoe, while another lifted him by the neck and dropped him back onto the table. Officers then removed his clothing, leaving Brooks unconscious and covered in his own blood. He was pronounced dead at a hospital the next morning.
Preliminary medical findings indicate "concern for asphyxia due to compression of the neck" as the cause of death, with the assault being a contributing factor, AP reported.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul condemned the attack, announcing the termination of 13 correction officers and a nurse involved, calling the footage of the "senseless killing" both "outrageous and horrifying."
Attorney General Letitia James has launched an investigation but has not disclosed whether the officers will face criminal charges. "These videos are shocking and disturbing," James said, urging caution to those who choose to view them.
The video, which is age-restricted, can be seen here.
Brooks, serving a 12-year sentence for first-degree assault since 2017, had been transferred to Marcy Correctional Facility just hours before the attack. A prison oversight group, The Correction Association of New York, has claimed to have documented reports of racism and violence from the prison obtained during a past visit.
"No human being should be treated that way by another human being," Craig DuMond, president of the New York State Sheriffs' Association said.
"It is made even worse by the fact that the extreme cruelty was inflicted by those entrusted with the power of government, against those they were entrusted to guard and protect."
Originally published by Latin Times.
